Chicken

Name

Chicken

Scientific Name

Gallus domesticus

Characteristics

Chickens are a domesticated animal. They are believed to be descended from the red junglefowl. There are more chickens in the world than any other bird. This is largely due to the farming industry; more than 50 billion chickens are reared annually as a source of food. Chickens are reared for their eggs, as well as their meat.

Chickens are characterised by their long, thin legs and by the feathers that cover their bodies. Adult chickens have a fleshy red crest on the top of their heads, known as a comb. Males are known as cocks or roosters and females are known as hens.

Diet

Chickens are omnivores. They mostly eat seeds, grains, plants and small insects.

Size Fact

Larger breeds of chicken can weigh up to 3.5 kg.

Food Fact

In China, chicken feet are eaten as a snack.

Fun Fact

Chickens are not natural flyers: the longest recorded chicken flight was a mere 13 seconds long!

IUCN Red list

Domesticated chickens are not endangered.

Where do I live?

Chickens are a domesticated species; they are believed to have originated from South East Asia.